Physicians, Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/ODF_pnahp.html

As part of our ongoing effort to keep you informed of the latest developments related to the Open Payments Program (Physician Payments Sunshine Act), the following new resources are now available on the website:

Additional Open Payments FAQs Added

These new FAQs are related to a wide variety of Open Payments topics, including loans for covered devices, clarification on when a distributer is considered an applicable manufacturer and how to classify a number of different forms of payments.

Notice in Federal Register: Public Comments for CMS-10495

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Open Payments published a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments for CMS-10495 (Registration, Attestation, Dispute and Resolution, Assumptions Document and Data Retention Requirements for Open Payments). This PRA package explains the Open Payments registration data to be collected from applicable manufacturers and applicable GPOs, plus the data needed from physicians and investors for them to register for the program and review the data provided by applicable manufacturers and applicable GPOs. The 60-day public comment period on CMS-10495 closes on September 20, 2013.

Two Continuing Medical Education Activities are Available

Also available for physicians to learn more about Open Payments is a continuing medical education (CME) activity. Two such activities are available and accessible via Medscape; both are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (due to email formatting restrictions, please review the version of this document on the Open Door Forum page for details of the two activities.)

Medscape accounts are free and users do not have to be health care professionals to register. Registration can be found on the Medscape website www.medscape.com.

Data Submission File Specifications (formerly known as Data Collection Templates)

The Open Payments program website includes the data submission file specifications for 2013; physicians, applicable manufacturers and applicable GPOs should become familiar with the categories used to describe reportable payments or other transfers of value, and ownership or investment interests. These specifications are critical, as they will be needed for data submission in early 2014. The OMB control number is 0938-1173.

Note, the first Open Payments program cycle (August 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013) is a partial data collection period of only five months, as compared to future program cycles which will run for the entire year. For this first period, the data collected by applicable manufacturers and GPOs through December 31^st, 2013 will be submitted to CMS in early 2014. Physicians do not need take any action or submit data to CMS. They will have the opportunity to review the submitted data and work with the applicable manufacturer and applicable GPO to correct their submitted information before CMS makes it public.

CMS Created Mobile Apps to Assist with Payment Tracking
As physicians, applicable manufacturers and applicable GPOs begin tracking financial data, remember that there are new mobile apps available to assist in Open Payments implementation, one for industry use and one that physicians may use. Indeed, the objective for these apps is to make tracking payment information easier and more convenient, and to improve the accuracy of payment information by tracking payments as they occur throughout the year.

You can download the mobile apps directly from your app store (iOS Apple™ or GooglePlay™); search for either Open Payments Mobile for Industry or Open Payments Mobile for Physicians. The upcoming National Provider Call on August 8^th will provide a demonstration of the apps’ functionality; to register, visit MLN Connects Upcoming Calls.

Questions

For any questions relating to Open Payments, contact the Help Desk at OpenPayments@cms.hhs.gov.

Physicians, Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum

Overview:

The Physicians, Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum (ODF) addresses the concerns and issues of Medicare and Medicaid physicians, non-physician practitioners, nurses, and other allied health care specialists. This diverse group of providers serves Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in almost all service settings, ranging from independent physician offices to specialized departments within larger facilities. The types of issues that come up during this forum are as varied as the providers who participate, but some frequent topics include the Physician Fee Schedule, Stark regulations, care plan oversight, payment and documentation rules, Provider Enrollment Chain Ownership System (PECOS), as well as the roles and responsibilities of different allied health professional staff under CMS regulations. Timely announcements and clarifications regarding important rulemaking, quality program initiatives, and other related areas are also included in the forums.
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CMS will host a Special Open Door Forum (ODF) call to allow hospitals, practitioners, and other interested parties to give feedback on the physician order and physician certification, inpatient hospital admission and medical review criteria, and Part B inpatient billing provisions that were released on August 2, 2013 in the FY 2014 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule (CMS-1599-F). If you wish to participate, dial 1-877-251-0301; Conference ID: 31049561. Please see the full announcement in the Downloads section below. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
As part of our ongoing effort to keep you informed of the latest developments related to the OPEN PAYMENTS Program (Physician Payments Sunshine Act), new resources are now available. Please see the Downloads section below for more information.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a series of Special Open Door Forum (ODF) calls to allow physicians, prosthetists, and other interested parties to give feedback on the Suggested Electronic Clinical Template for Lower Limb Prostheses for possible Medicare use nationwide. The next call is scheduled for Wednesday, September 11, 2013 from 4pm - 5pm ET. Please see the Downloads section below for the full announcement including participation instructions.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host an ICD-10 Basics National Provider Call on Thursday, August 22, 2013, from 1:30-3:00pm ET. The target audience is medical coders, physicians, physician office staff, nurses and other non-physician practitioners, provider billing staff, health records staff, vendors, educators, system maintainers, laboratories, and all Medicare providers. Please see the Downloads section below for the full announcement including registration instructions. Thank you.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a series of Special Open Door Forum (ODF) calls to allow physicians, prosthetists, and other interested parties to give feedback on the Suggested Electronic Clinical Template for Lower Limb Prostheses for possible Medicare use nationwide. The next call is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31, 2013 from 1pm - 2pm ET. Please see the Downloads section below for the full announcement including participation instructions.
An updated and more detailed agenda for the Tuesday, July 16, 2013, Physicians, Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum has been added to the Downloads section below. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935; Conference ID: 14758940. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
The next Physicians, Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, July 16, 2013 from 2:00pm – 3:00pm ET. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935; Conference ID: 14758940. Please see the Downloads section below for full participation instructions including the agenda. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
Thursday, August 8, 2013 – Open Payments: Policy Updates on Payments and the Physician Resource Toolkit – Registration Now Open. Please see the Downloads section below for full announcement.
CMS is hosting a series of EHR Incentive Program related national calls. The calls will take place on July 23, 2013, July 24, 2013 & August 15, 2013. Please see the Downloads section below for registration information.
CMS is developing a registry of Medicare providers for participation in the MSI. To accomplish this effort, CMS is seeking to collect accurate contact information by having providers complete the MSI Participant Registration form. The form itself is not a survey. It is a method for gathering pertinent contact information such as name, email address, state, etc. It should take less than 1 minute to complete. For each MSI administration, CMS will randomly select its MSI sample from a list of providers who register to become participants. Please see the Downloads section below for the full registration announcement.

The transcript of the Tuesday, May 28, 2013 Data Elements for Lower Limb Prosthesis Documentation Special Open Door Forum is available in the Downloads section of the Special Open Door Forum Page: http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/ODFSpecialODF.html . Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service will host a series of Special Open Door Forum (ODF) calls to allow physicians, prosthetists, and other interested parties to give feedback on the Suggested Electronic Clinical Template for Lower Limb Prostheses for possible nationwide use for Medicare. The first call was held on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. The next call will take place on June 13, 2013 from 4pm-5pm ET. Please see Downloads section below for the full announcement including participation instructions.

The next Physicians, Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, June 4, 2013 from 2:00pm – 3:00pm ET. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935; Conference ID: 78869207. Please see the Downloads section below for full participation instructions including the agenda. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
National Provider Calls: Medicare Shared Savings Program Application Process — Register Now
Thursday, June 20; 1:30-3pm ET— Application Review
Thursday, July 18; 1-2:30pm ET— Application Question and Answer Session. Please see Downloads section below for full announcement, including registration instructions.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service will host a series of Special Open Door Forum (ODF) calls to allow physicians, prosthetists, and other interested parties to give feedback on the Suggested Electronic Clinical Template for Lower Limb Prostheses for possible nationwide use for Medicare. The first call is scheduled for Tuesday, May 28, 2013 from 2pm - 3pm ET. Please see Downloads section below for the full announcement including participation instructions.
If you help people with Original Medicare get certain durable medical equipment and supplies, such as oxygen, walkers, or wheelchairs, you should know about a Medicare program, called the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding program, that saves money for taxpayers and people with Medicare and may change the suppliers people with Medicare will need to use. Please see the Downloads section below for the link titled: "Information You Need: New Medicare Equipment and Supplies Program In Your Community."
CMS Seeks Public Comment on Defining QIO Service Areas - Comments Accepted through Friday, May 31, 2013. Please see Downloads section below for full announcement.
CMS will host a National Provider Call on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, titled: National Physician Payment Transparency Program (Open Payments) - What You Need To Know. Please see Downloads section below for full announcement.
An updated agenda for the Tuesday, April 23, 2013 Physicians, Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum is available in the Downloads section below. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
The next Physicians, Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, April 23, 2013 from 2:00pm – 3:00pm ET. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935; Conference ID: 78874311. Please see the Downloads section below for full participation instructions including the agenda. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
National Provider Calls: Medicare Shared Savings Program Application Process — Registration Now Open
Tuesday, April 9; 2:30-4pm ET — Preparing to Apply
Tuesday, April 23; 1:30-3pm ET — Tips on Completing a Successful Application. See Downloads section below for full announcement.
National Provider Call: Begin Transitioning to ICD-10 in 2013 — Registration Now Open
Thursday, April 18; 1:30-3pm ET. See Downloads section below for full announcement.
The CMS Innovation Center will be hosting a conference call on Tuesday, March 12, 2013 from 3:00pm to 4:00pm ET. CMS Innovation Center Director, Richard Gilfillan, MD, and Karen Murphy, RN, PhD, Director of the State Innovations Group, will provide an overview of the Model Testing, Pre-Testing and Model Design awards as well as additional information on how providers can participate in the State Innovation Models initiative. Please see the Downloads section below for the full announcement with participation instructions. Thank you.
The next Physicians, Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, March 12, 2013 from 2:00pm – 3:00pm ET. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935; Conference ID: 78871126. Please see the Downloads section below for full participation instructions including the agenda. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
The Durable Medical Equipment, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program will be changing how some Medicare patients get covered supplies. Be sure to give your Medicare patients the correct information. Please review (copy and paste the link into your web browser) the following link for information for people who refer Medicare beneficiaries for DMEPOS: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/index.html?redirect=/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/01_overview.asp.
CMS is providing an opportunity to preview the redesigned Physician Compare website prior to its release early this year. Please see the Downloads section below for further details. Thank you.
Please see the "New Electronic Mailing List to Keep Fee-For-Service Providers Informed" announcement in the Downloads section below.